Ref. No.: KVOP-17063/2020/S

Report on cases in which remedy was not achieved even using the procedure under Section 20 of the Public Defender of Rights Act

In accordance with Section 24 (1)(b) of Act No. 349/1999 Coll., on the Public Defender of Rights, as amended, I provide information to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic on cases where adequate remedial measures were not achieved even by means of notifying the superior authority or the Government, or by informing the public of the findings obtained in inquiries under Section 20 of the Public Defender of Rights Act.

A. The option for inmates to use various things when serving a custodial sentence (File No. 4003/2019/VOP)1

The former Public Defender of Rights suggested to the Director of the Rapotice that, as a remedial measure, the prison should enable the complainant to use a CD player with headphones for learning a foreign language. Furthermore, she suggested that convicts should be allowed to wear T- of any colour in the prison, including printed T-shirts unless the motive seemed generally inappropriate (only black and white t-shirts without print are currently permitted), and that they also be permitted to combine the institutional with their own accessories (e.g. own and , scarfs and gloves). The Director of the Rapotice Prison did not adopt the suggested remedial measures and the Public Defender of Rights therefore used the option of informing the General Directorate of the Prison Service of the Czech Republic about the above.

The Director General of the Prison Service of the Czech Republic stated that the prison was not required to permit the use of a CD player with headphones and justified the denial by the risk of introduction of prohibited items and lower attention of the convicts. The Director General also rejected the possibility of wearing T-shirts of various colours because of the need for identification of convicts and the possibility of distinguishing among them. The requirement for combination of institutional and civilian clothing was denied on the same grounds.

Since remedy was not achieved even through this sanction, the information has been submitted to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament.

It can be added to the above that, in a different case, the former Defender turned to the Ministry of Justice and proposed to amend the relevant provisions of the Rules (Section 18) so that all convicts in a standard prison and prison for juveniles could wear their own clothes and outside work. The duty to wear a prison uniform would thus apply only to convicts assigned to a high security prison. We are currently expecting a response from the Ministry.

Brno, 30 April 2020

1 Report on inquiry, final statement, notice to the superior authority. 1st quarter of 2020

JUDr. Stanislav Křeček Public Defender of Rights *

2